Republic (Plato)

The Republic (Greek: Πολιτεία, translit.   Politeia; Latin: De

Republic
Republica[1]) is a Socratic dialogue, authored by Plato around 375
BCE, concerning justice (δικαιοσύνη), the order and character of
the just city-state, and the just man.[2] It is Plato's best-known
work, and one of the world's most influential works of philosophy
and political theory, both intellectually and historically.[3][4]

In the dialogue, Socrates discusses the meaning of justice and

whether the just man is happier than the unjust man with various
Athenians and foreigners.[5] He considers the natures of existing
regimes and then proposes a series of hypothetical cities in
comparison, culminating in Kallipolis (Καλλίπολις), a utopian city-
state ruled by a philosopher-king. They also discuss ageing, love,
theory of forms, the immortality of the soul, and the role of the
philosopher and of poetry in society.[6] The dialogue's setting
seems to be the time of the Peloponnesian War.[7]

Title page of the oldest complete

Place in Plato's corpus manuscript: Paris, Bibliothèque
Nationale, Gr. 1807 (late 9th
The Republic is generally placed in the middle period of Plato's
century)
dialogues—that is, it is believed to be written after the early period
dialogues but before the late period dialogues. However, the Author Plato
distinction of this group from the early dialogues is not as clear as Original title Πολιτεία
the distinction of the late dialogues from all the others.
Country Ancient Greece
Nonetheless, Ritter, Arnim, and Baron—with their separate
methodologies—all agreed that the Republic was well Language Greek
distinguished, along with Parmenides, Phaedrus and Subject Political philosophy
Theaetetus.[8]
Published c. 375 BCE
However, the first book of the Republic, which shares many Text Republic at
features with earlier dialogues, is thought to have originally been Wikisource
written as a separate work, and then the remaining books were
conjoined to it, perhaps with modifications to the original of the first book.[9]

Outline

Books I–II: Aging, Love and the Definitions of Justice

While visiting the city of Piraeus with Glaucon, Polemarchus tells Socrates to join him for a romp. They
eventually end up at Polemarchus' house where Socrates encounters Polemarchus' father Cephalus.
In his first philosophical conversation with the group members, Socrates gets into a conversation with
Cephalus. The first real philosophical question posed by Plato in the book is when Socrates asks “is life
painful at that age, or what report do you make of it?”[10] when speaking to Cephalus who is older than
Socrates.

Plato is seemingly interested with aging and love and in what effect they will have on him. It is a brief but
salient point and the book's first real discussion.

Cephalus answers by saying that many are unhappy about old age because they miss their youth. But he
then says that he has met other men who do not feel this way. Cephalus mentions a story that when he was
in the presence of one of these men named Sophocles and he was asked “how do you feel about love,
Sophocles are you still capable of it? To which he replied, Hush! if you please: to my great delight I have
escaped from it, and feel as if I have escaped from a frantic and savage master.”[10] Cephalus states that he
feels that Sophocles has spoken wisely and that “unquestionably for old age brings us profound repose and
freedom from this (love) and other passions. When the appetites have abated, and their force is diminished,
the description of Sophocles is perfectly realized. It is like being delivered from a multitude of furious
masters.”[10] This seems to set Socrates at ease and the conversations move on to discuss Justice.

Plato seems to be asking the question about both “love” (strong attachment and affection) and libido (sexual
desire) in this section. Plato is indicating that as we age or enter the “threshold of age”[10] (age above 65)
we can escape/release/detach from our passions and desires (those frantic and savage masters) and can live
contentedly in repose. It also seems to indicate that realizing this escape from earthly passions earlier in life
could bring freedom, contentedness and repose earlier in life. One of Plato's famous quotes is "The greatest
wealth is to live content with little."[11]

Socrates then asks Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus for their definitions of justice. Cephalus
defines justice as giving what is owed. Polemarchus says justice is "the art which gives good to friends and
evil to enemies." Thrasymachus proclaims "justice is nothing else than the interest of the stronger." Socrates
demolishes each in turn and says that it is to one's advantage to be just and disadvantage to be unjust. The
first book ends in aporia concerning the essence of justice.

The first book proposes two definitions of justice but deemed inadequate.[12] Returning debts owed, and
helping friends while harming enemies, are commonsense definitions of justice that, Socrates shows, are
inadequate, and thus lack the universality demanded of a definition. He does not completely reject them, for
each expresses a commonsense notion that Socrates incorporates in books II through V.

At the end of Book I, Socrates agrees with Polemarchus that justice includes helping friends, but says the
just man would never harm another. Thrasymachus believes that Socrates has done those present an
injustice by saying this and attacks his character and reputation, partly because he suspects that Socrates
does not believe that harming enemies is unjust. Thrasymachus gives his understanding of justice and
injustice as "justice is what is advantageous to the stronger, while injustice is to one's own profit and
advantage".[13] Socrates asks whether the ruler who makes a mistake by making a law that lessens their
well-being is still a just ruler according to that definition. Thrasymachus agrees that no just ruler would
make such an error. This agreement allows Socrates to undermine Thrasymachus' definition by comparing
rulers to people of various professions. Thrasymachus consents to Socrates' assertion that an artist is
someone who does his job well, and is a practioner of some art, which allows him to complete the job well.
In so doing Socrates gets Thrasymachus to admit that rulers who enact a law that does not benefit them
firstly, are in the precise sense not rulers. Thrasymachus gives up, and falls silent. Socrates has trapped
Thrasymachus into admitting that the strong man who makes a mistake is not strong in the precise sense,
and that some type of knowledge is required to rule perfectly. However, it is far from a satisfactory
definition of justice.

Book II The Ring of Gyges

Socrates believes he has answered Thrasymachus and is done with the discussion of justice. Socrates'
young companions, Glaucon and Adeimantus, continue for the sake of furthering the discussion. Glaucon
argues that the origin of justice was first in social contracts aimed at preventing one from suffering injustice,
unable to take revenge, second that all those who practice justice do so unwillingly and out of fear of
punishment, and third that the life of the unjust man is far more blessed than that of the just man. Glaucon
would like Socrates to prove that justice is not only desirable, but that it belongs to the highest class of
desirable things: those desired both for their own sake and for their consequences. To demonstrate the
problem, he tells the story of Gyges, who – with the help of a ring that turns him invisible – achieves great
advantages for himself by committing injustices.The only reason that men are just and praise justice is out
of fear of punishment. The law is a product of compromise between individuals who agree not to treat
others unjustly if others do the same. Glaucon says that if people had the power to withhold justice without
fear of punishment, they would. Glaucon uses this argument to challenge Socrates to defend the position
that the just life is better than the unjust life. Adeimantus adds to Glaucon's speech the charge that men are
only just for the results that justice brings: fortune, honor, and reputation. Adeimantus challenges Socrates
to prove that behaving justly is worth something in and of itself, not only as a means to an end.

After Glaucon's speech, Adeimantus adds that, in this thought experiment, the unjust should not fear divine
judgement, since the very poets who wrote about such judgement also wrote that the gods would grant
forgiveness to those who made religious sacrifice. Adeimantus demonstrates his reason by drawing two
detailed portraits, an unjust man who grew wealthy by injustice, devoting a percentage of this gain to
religion, thus rendering him innocent in the eyes of the gods.

Book II–IV: The city and the soul

Socrates suggests that they use the city as an image to seek how justice comes to be in the soul of an
individual. After attributing the origin of society to the individual not being self-sufficient and having many
needs which he cannot supply himself, they go on to describe the development of the city. Socrates first
describes the "healthy state", but Glaucon considers this hardly different than "a city of pigs." Socrates then
goes on to describe the luxurious city, which he calls "a fevered state".[14] This requires a guardian class to
defend and attack on its account.

This begins a discussion concerning the type of education that ought to be given to these guardians in their
early years, including the topic of what kind of stories are appropriate. They conclude that stories that
ascribe evil to the gods are untrue and should not be taught. They suggest that guardians should be
educated in these four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, justice and temperance. They also suggest that the
second part of the guardians' education should be in gymnastics. With physical training they will be able to
live without needing frequent medical attention: physical training will help prevent illness and weakness.
Socrates asserts that both male and female guardians be given the same education, that all wives and
children be shared, and that they be prohibited from owning private property.

In the fictional tale known as the myth or parable of the metals, Socrates presents the Noble Lie (γενναῖον
ψεῦδος, gennaion pseudos), to explain the origin of the three social classes. Socrates proposes and claims
that if the people believed "this myth...[it] would have a good effect, making them more inclined to care for
the state and one another."[15] Socrates assumes each person will be happy engaging in the occupation that
suits them best. If the city as a whole is happy, then individuals are happy. In the physical education and
diet of the guardians, the emphasis is on moderation, since both poverty and excessive wealth will corrupt
them (422a1). Without controlling their education, the city cannot control the future rulers. Socrates says
that it is pointless to worry over specific laws, like those pertaining to contracts, since proper education
ensures lawful behavior, and poor education causes lawlessness (425a–425c).[16]

Socrates proceeds to search for wisdom, courage, and temperance in the city, on the grounds that justice
will be easier to discern in what remains (427e). They find wisdom among the guardian rulers, courage
among the guardian warriors (or auxiliaries), temperance among all classes of the city in agreeing about
who should rule and who should be ruled. Finally, Socrates defines justice in the city as the state in which
each class performs only its own work, not meddling in the work of the other classes (433b).

The virtues discovered in the city are then sought in the individual soul. For this purpose, Socrates creates
an analogy between the parts of the city and the soul (the city–soul analogy). He argues that psychological
conflict points to a divided soul, since a completely unified soul could not behave in opposite ways towards
the same object, at the same time, and in the same respect (436b).[17] He gives examples of possible
conflicts between the rational, spirited, and appetitive parts of the soul, corresponding to the rulers,
auxiliaries, and producing classes in the city. Having established the tripartite soul, Socrates defines the
virtues of the individual. A person is wise if he is ruled by the part of the soul that knows “what is beneficial
for each part and for the whole,” courageous if his spirited part “preserves in the midst of pleasures and
pains” the decisions reached by the rational part, and temperate if the three parts agree that the rational part
lead (442c–d).[18] They are just if each part of the soul attends to its function and not the function of
another. It follows from this definition that one cannot be just if one doesn't have the other cardinal
virtues.[17]

Book V–VI: The Ship of State

Socrates, having to his satisfaction defined the just constitution of both city and psyche, moves to elaborate
upon the four unjust constitutions of these. Adeimantus and Polemarchus interrupt, asking Socrates instead
first to explain how the sharing of wives and children in the guardian class is to be defined and legislated, a
theme first touched on in Book III. Socrates is overwhelmed at their request, categorizing it as three
"waves" of attack against which his reasoning must stand firm. These three waves challenge Socrates'
claims that

both male and female guardians ought to receive the same education
human reproduction ought to be regulated by the state and all offspring should be ignorant of
their actual biological parents
such a city and its corresponding philosopher-king could actually come to be in the real
world.

In Books V–VII the abolition of riches among the guardian class (not unlike Max Weber's bureaucracy)
leads controversially to the abandonment of the typical family, and as such no child may know his or her
parents and the parents may not know their own children. Socrates tells a tale which is the "allegory of the
good government". The rulers assemble couples for reproduction, based on breeding criteria. Thus, stable
population is achieved through eugenics and social cohesion is projected to be high because familial links
are extended towards everyone in the city. Also the education of the youth is such that they are taught of
only works of writing that encourage them to improve themselves for the state's good, and envision (the)
god(s) as entirely good, just, and the author(s) of only that which is good.

Socrates' argument is that in the ideal city, a true philosopher with understanding of forms will facilitate the
harmonious co-operation of all the citizens of the city—the governance of a city-state is likened to the
command of a ship, the Ship of State. This philosopher-king must be intelligent, reliable, and willing to lead
a simple life. However, these qualities are rarely manifested on their own, and so they must be encouraged
through education and the study of the Good.

Book VI–VII: Allegories of the Sun, Divided Line, and Cave

The Allegory of the Cave primarily depicts Plato's distinction between the world of appearances and the
'real' world of the Forms.,[19] Just as visible objects must be illuminated in order to be seen, so must also be
true of objects of knowledge if light is cast on them.

Plato imagines a group of people who have lived their entire lives as prisoners, chained to the wall of a
cave in the subterranean so they are unable to see the outside world behind them. However a constant
flame illuminates various moving objects outside, which are silhouetted on the wall of the cave visible to
the prisoners. These prisoners, through having no other experience of reality, ascribe forms to these
shadows such as either "dog" or "cat". Plato then goes on to explain how the philosopher is akin to a
prisoner who is freed from the cave. The prisoner is initially blinded by the light, but when he adjusts to the
brightness he sees the fire and the statues and how they caused the images witnessed inside the cave. He
sees that the fire and statues in the cave were just copies of the real objects; merely imitations. This is
analogous to the Forms. What we see from day to day are merely appearances, reflections of the Forms.
The philosopher, however, will not be deceived by the shadows and will hence be able to see the 'real'
world, the world above that of appearances; the philosopher will gain knowledge of things in themselves.
At the end of this allegory, Plato asserts that it is the philosopher's burden to reenter the cave. Those who
have seen the ideal world, he says, have the duty to educate those in the material world. Since the
philosopher recognizes what is truly good only he is fit to rule society according to Plato.

Book VIII–IX: Plato's five regimes

In Books VIII–IX stand Plato's criticism of the forms of government. Plato categorized governments into
five types of regimes: aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny.

The starting point is an imagined, alternate aristocracy (ruled by a philosopher-king); a just government
ruled by a philosopher king, dominated by the wisdom-loving element. Aristocracy degenerates into
timocracy when, due to miscalculation on the part of its governing class, the next generation includes
persons of an inferior nature, inclined not just to cultivating virtues but also producing wealth. In a
timocracy, governors will apply great effort in gymnastics and the arts of war, as well as the virtue that
pertains to them, that of courage. As the emphasis on honor is compromised by wealth accumulation, it is
replaced by oligarchy. The oligarchic government is dominated by the desiring element, in which the rich
are the ruling class. Oligarchs do, however, value at least one virtue, that of temperance and moderation—
not out of an ethical principle or spiritual concern, but because by dominating wasteful tendencies they
succeed in accumulating money. As this socioeconomic divide grows, so do tensions between social
classes. From the conflicts arising out of such tensions, the poor majority overthrow the wealthy minority,
and democracy replaces the oligarchy preceding it. In democracy, the lower class grows bigger and bigger.
A visually appealing demagogue is soon lifted up to protect the interests of the lower class, who can exploit
them to take power in order to maintain order. Democracy then degenerates into tyranny where no one has
discipline and society exists in chaos. In a tyrannical government, the city is enslaved to the tyrant, who
uses his guards to remove the best social elements and individuals from the city to retain power (since they
pose a threat), while leaving the worst. He will also provoke warfare to consolidate his position as leader. In
this way, tyranny is the most unjust regime of all.

In parallel to this, Socrates considers the individual or soul that corresponds to each of these regimes. He
describes how an aristocrat may become weak or detached from political and material affluence, and how
his son will respond to this by becoming overly ambitious.The timocrat in turn may be defeated by the
courts or vested interests; his son responds by accumulating wealth in order to gain power in society and
defend himself against the same predicament, thereby becoming an oligarch. The oligarch's son will grow
up with wealth without having to practice thrift or stinginess, and will be tempted and overwhelmed by his
desires,[20] so that he becomes democratic, valuing freedom above all.[20] The democratic man is torn
between tyrannical passions and oligarchic discipline, and ends up in the middle ground: valuing all desires,
both good and bad. The tyrant will be tempted in the same way as the democrat, but without an upbringing
in discipline or moderation to restrain him. Therefore, his most base desires and wildest passions
overwhelm him, and he becomes driven by lust, using force and fraud to take whatever he wants. The
tyrant is both a slave to his lusts, and a master to whomever he can enslave. Socrates points out the human
tendency to be corrupted by power leads down the road to timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny.
From this, he concludes that ruling should be left to philosophers, who are the most just and therefore least
susceptible to corruption. This "good city" is depicted as being governed by philosopher-kings;
disinterested persons who rule not for their personal enjoyment but for the good of the city-state (polis). The
philosophers have seen the "Forms" and therefore know what is good. They understand the corrupting
effect of greed and own no property and receive no salary. They also live in sober communism, eating and
sleeping together.

Book X: Myth of Er

Concluding a theme brought up most explicitly in the Analogies of the Sun and Divided Line in Book VI,
Socrates finally rejects any form of imitative art and concludes that such artists have no place in the just city.
He continues on to argue for the immortality of the psyche and even espouses a theory of reincarnation. He
finishes by detailing the rewards of being just, both in this life and the next. Artists create things but they are
only different copies of the idea of the original. "And whenever any one informs us that he has found a
man who knows all the arts, and all things else that anybody knows, and every single thing with a higher
degree of accuracy than any other man—whoever tells us this, I think that we can only imagine to be a
simple creature who is likely to have been deceived by some wizard or actor whom he met, and whom he
thought all-knowing, because he himself was unable to analyze the nature of knowledge and ignorance and
imitation."[21]

And the same object appears straight when looked at out of the water, and crooked when in
the water; and the concave becomes convex, owing to the illusion about colours to which the
sight is liable. Thus every sort of confusion is revealed within us; and this is that weakness of
the human mind on which the art of conjuring and deceiving by light and shadow and other
ingenious devices imposes, having an effect upon us like magic.[21]

He speaks about illusions and confusion. Things can look very similar, but be different in reality. Because
we are human, at times we cannot tell the difference between the two.

And does not the same hold also of the ridiculous? There are jests which you would be
ashamed to make yourself, and yet on the comic stage, or indeed in private, when you hear
them, you are greatly amused by them, and are not at all disgusted at their unseemliness—the
case of pity is repeated—there is a principle in human nature which is disposed to raise a
laugh, and this which you once restrained by reason, because you were afraid of being thought
a buffoon, is now let out again; and having stimulated the risible faculty at the theatre, you are
betrayed unconsciously to yourself into playing the comic poet at home.
With all of us, we may approve of something, as long we are not directly involved with it. If we joke about
it, we are supporting it.

Quite true, he said. And the same may be said of lust and anger and all the other affections, of
desire and pain and pleasure, which are held to be inseparable from every action—in all of
them poetry feeds and waters the passions instead of drying them up; she lets them rule,
although they ought to be controlled, if mankind are ever to increase in happiness and
virtue.[21]

Sometimes we let our passions rule our actions or way of thinking, although they should be controlled, so
that we can increase our happiness.

Legacy

Ancient Greece and Rome

Aristotle systematises many of Plato's analyses in his Politics, and criticizes the propositions of several
political philosophers for the ideal city-state.

Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, wrote his version of an ideal society, Zeno's Republic, in
opposition to Plato's Republic.[22] Zeno's Republic was controversial and was viewed with some
embarrassment by some of the later Stoics due to its defenses of free love, incest, and cannibalism and due
to its opposition to ordinary education and the building of temples, law-courts, and gymnasia.

The English title of Plato's dialogue is derived from Cicero's De re publica, written some three centuries
later.[23] Cicero's dialogue imitates Plato's style and treats many of the same topics, and Cicero's main
character Scipio Aemilianus expresses his esteem for Plato and Socrates.

Augustine of Hippo wrote his The City of God Augustine equally described a model of the "ideal city", in
his case the eternal Jerusalem, using a visionary language not unlike that of the preceding philosophers.

Middle Ages

Ibn Rushd

Islamic philosophers were much more interested in Aristotle than Plato, but not having access to Aristotle's
Politics, Ibn Rushd (Averroes) produced instead a commentary on Plato's Republic. He advances an
authoritarian ideal, following Plato's paternalistic model. Absolute monarchy, led by a philosopher-king,
creates a justly ordered society. This requires extensive use of coercion,[24] although persuasion is preferred
and is possible if the young are properly raised.[25] Rhetoric, not logic, is the appropriate road to truth for
the common man. Demonstrative knowledge via philosophy and logic requires special study. Rhetoric aids
religion in reaching the masses.[26]
Following Plato, Ibn Rushd accepts the principle of women's equality. They should be educated and
allowed to serve in the military; the best among them might be tomorrow's philosophers or rulers.[27][28] He
also accepts Plato's illiberal measures such as the censorship of literature. He uses examples from Arab
history to illustrate just and degenerate political orders.[29]

Gratian

The medieval jurist Gratian in his Decretum (ca 1140), quotes Plato as agreeing with him that "by natural
law all things are common to all people."[30] He identifies Plato's ideal society with the early Church as
described in the Acts of the Apostles. "Plato lays out the order", Gratian comments, "for a very just republic
in which no one considers anything his own."[31]

Thomas More

Thomas More, when writing his Utopia, invented the technique of using the portrayal of a "utopia" as the
carrier of his thoughts about the ideal society. More's island Utopia is also similar to Plato's Republic in
some aspects, among them common property and the lack of privacy.[32][33][34][35]

Hegel

Hegel respected Plato's theories of state and ethics much more than those of the early modern philosophers
such as Locke, Hobbes and Rousseau, whose theories proceeded from a fictional "state of nature" defined
by humanity's "natural" needs, desires and freedom. For Hegel this was a contradiction: since nature and
the individual are contradictory, the freedoms which define individuality as such are latecomers on the stage
of history. Therefore, these philosophers unwittingly projected man as an individual in modern society onto
a primordial state of nature. Plato however had managed to grasp the ideas specific to his time:

Plato is not the man to dabble in abstract theories and principles; his truth-loving mind has
recognized and represented the truth of the world in which he lived, the truth of the one spirit
that lived in him as in Greece itself. No man can overleap his time, the spirit of his time is his
spirit also; but the point at issue is, to recognize that spirit by its content.[36]

For Hegel, Plato's Republic is not an abstract theory or ideal which is too good for the real nature of man,
but rather is not ideal enough, not good enough for the ideals already inherent or nascent in the reality of his
time; a time when Greece was entering decline. One such nascent idea was about to crush the Greek way
of life: modern freedoms—or Christian freedoms in Hegel's view—such as the individual's choice of his
social class, or of what property to pursue, or which career to follow. Such individual freedoms were
excluded from Plato's Republic:

Plato recognized and caught up the true spirit of his times, and brought it forward in a more
definite way, in that he desired to make this new principle an impossibility in his Republic.[37]
Greece being at a crossroads, Plato's new "constitution" in the Republic was an attempt to preserve Greece:
it was a reactionary reply to the new freedoms of private property etc., that were eventually given legal
form through Rome. Accordingly, in ethical life, it was an attempt to introduce a religion that elevated each
individual not as an owner of property, but as the possessor of an immortal soul.

20th century

Mussolini admired Plato's The Republic, which he often read for

inspiration.[38] The Republic expounded a number of ideas that
fascism promoted, such as rule by an elite promoting the state as the
ultimate end, opposition to democracy, protecting the class system
and promoting class collaboration, rejection of egalitarianism,
promoting the militarization of a nation by creating a class of
warriors, demanding that citizens perform civic duties in the interest
of the state, and utilizing state intervention in education to promote
the development of warriors and future rulers of the state.[39] Plato
was an idealist, focused on achieving justice and morality, while
Mussolini and fascism were realist, focused on achieving political
goals.[40]
P. Oxy. 3679, manuscript from the
Martin Luther King Jr. nominated The Republic as the one book he 3rd century AD, containing fragments
would have taken to a deserted island, alongside the Bible.[41] of Plato's Republic.

21st century

In 2001, a survey of over 1,000 academics and students voted the Republic the greatest philosophical text
ever written. Julian Baggini argued that although the work "was wrong on almost every point, the
questions it raises and the methods it uses are essential to the western tradition of philosophy. Without it we
might not have philosophy as we know it."[42] In 2021, a survey showed that The Republic is the most
studied book in the top universities in the United States.[43][44]

Cultural influence

Plato's Republic has been influential in literature and art.

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World has a dystopian government that bears a resemblance to
the form of government described in the Republic, featuring the separation of people by
professional class, assignment of profession and purpose by the state, and the absence of
traditional family units, replaced by state-organized breeding.[45]
The Orwellian dystopia depicted in the novel 1984 had many characteristics in common with
Plato's description of the allegory of the Cave as Winston Smith strives to liberate himself
from it.[46]
In the early 1970s the Dutch composer Louis Andriessen composed a vocal work called De
Staat, based on the text of Plato's Republic.[47]
In Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers, his citizen can be compared to a Platonic
Guardian, without the communal breeding and property, but still having a militaristic base.
Although there are significant differences in the specifics of the system, Heinlein and Plato
both describe systems of limited franchise, with a political class that has supposedly earned
their power and wisely governs the whole. Republic is specifically attacked in Starship
 Troopers. The arachnids can be seen as much closer to a Republic society than the
humans.[48]
The film The Matrix models Plato's Allegory of the Cave.[49]
In fiction, Jo Walton's 2015 novel The Just City explored the consequences of establishing a
city-state based on the Republic in practice.
See also Ring of Gyges: Cultural influences

Criticism

Gadamer

In his 1934 Plato und die Dichter (Plato and the Poets), as well as several other works, Hans-Georg
Gadamer describes the utopic city of the Republic as a heuristic utopia that should not be pursued or even
be used as an orientation-point for political development. Rather, its purpose is said to be to show how
things would have to be connected, and how one thing would lead to another—often with highly
problematic results—if one would opt for certain principles and carry them through rigorously. This
interpretation argues that large passages in Plato's writing are ironic, a line of thought initially pursued by
Kierkegaard.

Popper

The city portrayed in the Republic struck some critics as harsh, rigid, and unfree; indeed, as totalitarian.
Karl Popper gave a voice to that view in his 1945 book The Open Society and Its Enemies, where he
singled out Plato's state as a dystopia. Popper distinguished Plato's ideas from those of Socrates, claiming
that the former in his later years expressed none of the humanitarian and democratic tendencies of his
teacher.[50] Popper thought Plato's envisioned state totalitarian as it advocated a government composed only
of a distinct hereditary ruling class, with the working class—who Popper argues Plato regards as "human
cattle"—given no role in decision making. He argues that Plato has no interest in what are commonly
regarded as the problems of justice—the resolution of disputes between individuals—because Plato has
redefined justice as "keeping one's place".[51]

Popper insists that the Republic "was meant by its author not so much as a theoretical treatise, but as a
topical political manifesto",[52] and Bertrand Russell argues that at least in intent, and all in all not so far
from what was possible in ancient Greek city-states, the form of government portrayed in the Republic was
meant as a practical one by Plato.[53]

Voegelin

Many critics have suggested that the dialogue's political discussion actually serves as an analogy for the
individual soul, in which there are also many different "members" that can either conflict or else be
integrated and orchestrated under a just and productive "government." Among other things, this analogical
reading would solve the problem of certain implausible statements Plato makes concerning an ideal political
republic.[54] Norbert Blössner (2007)[55] argues that the Republic is best understood as an analysis of the
workings and moral improvement of the individual soul with remarkable thoroughness and clarity. This
view, of course, does not preclude a legitimate reading of the Republic as a political treatise (the work could
operate at both levels). It merely implies that it deserves more attention as a work on psychology and moral
philosophy than it has sometimes received.
Eric Voegelin in Plato and Aristotle (Baton Rouge, 1957), gave meaning to the concept of 'Just City in
Speech' (Books II–V). For instance, there is evidence in the dialogue that Socrates himself would not be a
member of his 'ideal' state. His life was almost solely dedicated to the private pursuit of knowledge. More
practically, Socrates suggests that members of the lower classes could rise to the higher ruling class, and
vice versa, if they had 'gold' in their veins—a version of the concept of social mobility. The exercise of
power is built on the 'noble lie' that all men are brothers, born of the earth, yet there is a clear hierarchy and
class divisions. There is a tripartite explanation of human psychology that is extrapolated to the city, the
relation among peoples. There is no family among the guardians, another crude version of Max Weber's
concept of bureaucracy as the state non-private concern. Together with Leo Strauss, Voegelin considered
Popper's interpretation to be a gross misunderstanding not only of the dialogue itself, but of the very nature
and character of Plato's entire philosophic enterprise.

The paradigm of the city—the idea of the Good, the Agathon—has manifold historical embodiments,
undertaken by those who have seen the Agathon, and are ordered via the vision. The centerpiece of the
Republic, Part II, nos. 2–3, discusses the rule of the philosopher, and the vision of the Agathon with the
Allegory of the Cave, which is clarified in the theory of forms. The centerpiece is preceded and followed
by the discussion of the means that will secure a well-ordered polis (city). Part II, no. 1, concerns marriage,
the community of people and goods for the guardians, and the restraints on warfare among the Hellenes. It
describes a partially communistic polis. Part II, no. 4, deals with the philosophical education of the rulers
who will preserve the order and character of the city-state.

In part II, the Embodiment of the Idea, is preceded by the establishment of the economic and social orders
of a polis (part I), followed by an analysis (part III) of the decline the order must traverse. The three parts
compose the main body of the dialogues, with their discussions of the "paradigm", its embodiment, its
genesis, and its decline.

The introduction and the conclusion are the frame for the body of the Republic. The discussion of right
order is occasioned by the questions: "Is justice better than injustice?" and "Will an unjust man fare better
than a just man?" The introductory question is balanced by the concluding answer: "Justice is preferable to
injustice". In turn, the foregoing are framed with the Prologue (Book I) and the Epilogue (Book X). The
prologue is a short dialogue about the common public doxai (opinions) about justice. Based upon faith, and
not reason, the Epilogue describes the new arts and the immortality of the soul.

Strauss and Bloom

Some of Plato's proposals have led theorists like Leo Strauss and Allan Bloom to ask readers to consider
the possibility that Socrates was creating not a blueprint for a real city, but a learning exercise for the young
men in the dialogue. There are many points in the construction of the "Just City in Speech" that seem
contradictory, which raise the possibility Socrates is employing irony to make the men in the dialogue
question for themselves the ultimate value of the proposals. In turn, Plato has immortalized this 'learning
exercise' in the Republic.

One of many examples is that Socrates calls the marriages of the ruling class 'sacred'; however, they last
only one night and are the result of manipulating and drugging couples into predetermined intercourse with
the aim of eugenically breeding guardian-warriors. Strauss and Bloom's interpretations, however, involve
more than just pointing out inconsistencies; by calling attention to these issues they ask readers to think
more deeply about whether Plato is being ironic or genuine, for neither Strauss nor Bloom present an
unequivocal opinion, preferring to raise philosophic doubt over interpretive fact.

Strauss's approach developed out of a belief that Plato wrote esoterically. The basic acceptance of the
exoteric-esoteric distinction revolves around whether Plato really wanted to see the "Just City in Speech" of
Books V–VI come to pass, or whether it is just an allegory. Strauss never regarded this as the crucial issue
of the dialogue. He argued against Karl Popper's literal view, citing Cicero's opinion that the Republic's true
nature was to bring to light the nature of political things.[56] In fact, Strauss undermines the justice found in
the "Just City in Speech" by implying the city is not natural, it is a man-made conceit that abstracts away
from the erotic needs of the body. The city founded in the Republic "is rendered possible by the abstraction
from eros".[57]

An argument that has been used against ascribing ironic intent to Plato is that Plato's Academy produced a
number of tyrants who seized political power and abandoned philosophy for ruling a city. Despite being
well-versed in Greek and having direct contact with Plato himself, some of Plato's former students like
Clearchus, tyrant of Heraclea; Chaeron, tyrant of Pellene; Erastus and Coriscus, tyrants of Skepsis; Hermias
of Atarneus and Assos; and Calippus, tyrant of Syracuse ruled people and did not impose anything like a
philosopher-kingship. However, it can be argued whether these men became "tyrants" through studying in
the academy. Plato's school had an elite student body, some of whom would by birth, and family
expectation, end up in the seats of power. Additionally, it is important that it is by no means obvious that
these men were tyrants in the modern, totalitarian sense of the concept. Finally, since very little is actually
known about what was taught at Plato's Academy, there is no small controversy over whether it was even
in the business of teaching politics at all.[58]

Fragments
Several Oxyrhynchus Papyri fragments were found to contain parts of the Republic, and from other works
such as Phaedo, or the dialogue Gorgias, written around 200–300 CE.[59] Fragments of a different version
of Plato's Republic were discovered in 1945, part of the Nag Hammadi library, written ca. 350 CE.[60]
These findings highlight the influence of Plato during those times in Egypt.

Translations
Burges, George (1854). Plato: The Republic, Timaeus and Critias. New and literal version.
London: H.G. Bohn.
Jowett, Benjamin (1871). Plato: The Republic.
Bloom, Allan (1991) [1968]. The Republic of Plato. Translated, with notes and an interpretive
essay. New York: Basic Books.
Grube, G.M.A. (1992). Plato: The Republic. Revised by C.D.C. Reeve. Indianapolis: Hackett.
Waterfield, Robin (1994). Plato: Republic. Translated, with notes and an introduction. Oxford:
Oxford World's Classics.
Griffith, Tom (2000). Plato: The Republic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Allen, R.E. (2006). Plato: The Republic. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Sachs, Joe (2007). Plato: Republic. Newburyport: Focus Publishing.
 Rowe, Christopher (2012). Plato: Republic. London: Penguin.

See also
Collectivism and individualism
Cultural influence of Plato's Republic
Mixed government
Nous
Plato's number

Notes
1. Henri Estienne (ed.), Platonis opera quae extant omnia, Vol. 2, 1578, p. 327 (https://archive.
org/stream/platonisoperaqua02plat#page/326/mode/2up).
2. Brickhouse, Thomas and Smith, Nicholas D. Plato (c. 427–347 BC) (http://www.iep.utm.edu/
p/plato.htm), The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, University of Tennessee, cf. Dating
Plato's Dialogues.
3. National Public Radio (8 August 2007). Plato's 'Republic' Still Influential, Author Says (http
s://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12594668) Archived (https://web.archive.o
rg/web/20180920115135/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12594668)
20 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Talk of the Nation.
4. Plato: The Republic (http://www.allphilosophers.com/) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/
20180920120302/http://www.allphilosophers.com/) 20 September 2018 at the Wayback
Machine. Plato: His Philosophy and his life, allphilosophers.com
5. In ancient times, the book was alternately titled On Justice (not to be confused with the
spurious dialogue of the same name). Lorenz, Hendrik (22 April 2009). "Ancient Theories of
Soul" (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ancient-soul/#3.2). Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
6. Baird, Forrest E.; Walter Kaufmann (2008). From Plato to Derrida. Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-158591-1.
7. Although "there would be jarring anachronisms if any of the candidate specific dates
between 432 and 404 were assigned". Nails, Debra (2002), The People of Plato: A
Prosopography of Plato and Other Socratics. Hackett Publishing. ISBN 0-87220-564-9, p.
324
8. Brandwood, Leonard, The Chronology of Plato's Dialogues (Cambridge University Press,
1990), p. 251.
9. Brandwood (1990), p. 251
10. John Llewelyn, Davies (1921). The Republic of Plato. Macmillan and Company. p. 3.
11. "Quote by Plato" (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/420410-the-greatest-wealth-is-to-live-c
ontent-with-little?page=4). Goodreads.
12. "The Internet Classics Archive – The Republic by Plato" (http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republi
c.1.introduction.html). Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20110514005813/http://classic
s.mit.edu/Plato/republic.1.introduction.html) from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved
28 March 2011.
13. Plato. Book I, 344c. Plato Republic. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2004. Print.
14. Plato; Harold North Fowler; Paul Shorey (1977). Plato in Twelve Volumes (https://archive.or
g/details/euthyphroapology00plat_520). Vol. 5–6. W. Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-674-99040-1.
15. Book 3, 415c–d
16. Julia Annas, “Law in the Republic” from Virtue and Law in Plato and Beyond (Oxford
Scholarship Online, 2017). DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198755746.003.0002
17. Brown, Eric (2017), "Plato's Ethics and Politics in The Republic" (https://plato.stanford.edu/a
rchives/fall2017/entries/plato-ethics-politics/), in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2017 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford
University, archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20200410003045/https://plato.stanford.ed
u/archives/fall2017/entries/plato-ethics-politics/) from the original on 10 April 2020, retrieved
2 October 2018
18. Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vols. 5 & 6 translated by Paul Shorey. Cambridge, MA,
Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1969.
19. Silverman, Allan (2014), "Plato's Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology" (https://plat
o.stanford.edu/archives/fall2014/entries/plato-metaphysics/), in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2014 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford
University, retrieved 2 October 2018
20. McAleer, Sean (2020). Plato's 'Republic': An Introduction (https://www.openbookpublishers.c
om/books/10.11647/obp.0229). OpenBook Publishers. pp. 229–251. doi:10.11647/obp.0229
(https://doi.org/10.11647%2Fobp.0229). ISBN 978-1-80064-053-5. S2CID 228927159 (http
s://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:228927159).
21. The Republic, Book X
22. Plutarch, On Stoic self-contradictions, 1034F
23. Res publica is not an exact translation of Plato's Greek title politeia. Rather, politeia is a
general term for the actual and potential forms of government for a polis or city-state, and
Plato attempts to survey all possible forms of the state, while Cicero's discussion focuses
more on the improvement of the Roman Republic.
24. Black, Antony (2011). The History of Islamic Political Thought (2nd ed.). Edinburgh
University Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-7486-3987-8.
25. Fakhry, Majid (2001), Averroes (Ibn Rushd) His Life, Works and Influence, Oneworld
Publications, p. 106, ISBN 978-1-85168-269-0
26. Robert Pasnau (November–December 2011). "The Islamic Scholar Who Gave Us Modern
Philosophy" (http://www.neh.gov/humanities/2011/novemberdecember/feature/the-islamic-s
cholar-who-gave-us-modern-philosophy). Humanities. 32 (6).
27. Rosenthal, Erwin I.J. (26 December 2017). "Averroës" (https://www.britannica.com/biograph
y/Averroes}). Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. p. xix.
28. (Fakhry 2001, p. 110)
29. (Fakhry 2001, p. 114)
30. GRAT. Decr. D. 8 dicta Gratiani § 1 ante c. 1: Nam jure naturali omnia sunt communia
omnibus.
31. GRAT. Decr. D. 8 dicta Gratiani § 1 ante c. 1: Unde apud Platonem illa civitas justissime
ordinata traditur, in qua quisque proprios nescit affectus.
32. Interpreting Thomas More's Utopia By John Charles Olin Fordham Univ Press, 1989.
ISBN 0-8232-1233-5
33. "The Function of the Ideal in Plato's 'Republic' and St. Thomas More's 'Utopia' " by K.
Corrigan Moreana 1990, vol. 27, no.104, pp. 27-49
34. "Thomas More: On the Margins of Modernity " by J. H. Hexter The Journal of British Studies,
Vol. 1 (Nov., 1961), pp. 20-37 JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/stable/175096) "We find it in
Plato's Republic, and in Utopia More acknowledges his debt to that book."
35. "More on Utopia" by Brendan Bradshaw The Historical Journal, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Mar., 1981),
pp. 1-27 JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2638902) "claims that Utopia not merely
emulated Plato's Republic but excelled it."
36. Hegel, "Lectures on the Philosophy of History", vol II, p. 96
37. Hegel, "Lectures on the Philosophy of History", vol II, p. 99
38. Moseley, Ray (2004). Mussolini: The Last 600 Days of Il Duce (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=UmxaWvOL_IgC&pg=PA7). Taylor Trade. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-58979-095-7. Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20200925055508/https://books.google.com/books?id=UmxaWv
OL_IgC&pg=PA7) from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
39. Sharma, Urmila. Western Political Thought. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors (P) Ltd,
1998. p. 66.
40. Sharma, Urmila. Western Political Thought. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors (P) Ltd,
1998. pp. 66–67.
41. Sharpe, Matthew (16 December 2019). "Guide to the classics: Plato's Republic" (https://thec
onversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-platos-republic-127724). The Conversation.
42. Gibbons, Fiachra (7 September 2001). "The thinking person's favourite thinkers" (https://ww
w.theguardian.com/uk/2001/sep/07/books.humanities). TheGuardian.com. Retrieved
14 March 2016.
43. Ha, Thu-Huong (27 January 2016). "These are the books students at the top US colleges
are required to read" (https://qz.com/602956/these-are-the-books-students-at-the-top-us-coll
eges-are-required-to-read/). Quartz. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2021052814514
6/https://qz.com/602956/these-are-the-books-students-at-the-top-us-colleges-are-required-to
-read/) from the original on 28 May 2021.
44. Jackson, Abby (5 February 2016). "The most popular required reading at America's top 10
colleges" (https://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-popular-required-reading-at-the-top-10
-us-colleges-2016-1). Business Insider. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20210507005
627/https://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-popular-required-reading-at-the-top-10-us-col
leges-2016-1) from the original on 7 May 2021.
45. Franck, Matthew. "Aldous Huxley’s City in Speech: Brave New World and the Republic of
Plato" Paper presented at the annual meeting of The Midwest Political Science Association,
Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, Illinois, Apr 15, 2004 abstract (http://www.allacademic.com/m
eta/p84006_index.html)
46. "From Plato to Orwell: Utopian Rhetoric in a Dystopian World." by Deatherage, Scott. Paper
presented at the Annual Meeting of the Speech Communication Association (73rd, Boston,
MA, November 5–8, 1987). ERIC (http://eric.ed.gov:80/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recor
dDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED290192&ERIC
ExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&accno=ED290192)
47. Adlington, Robert. Louis Andriessen: De Staat. Ashgate, 2004. ISBN 0-7546-0925-1 [1] (htt
p://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Jan05/Andriessen_book.htm) - In 1992
a CD-recording by the Schoenberg Ensemble, conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw appeared
[2] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000005J0K) - In 1977 Andriessen had been awarded
several prizes for this composition [3] (http://composers21.com/compdocs/andriesl.htm)
48. Donald McQuarie "Utopia and Transcendence: An Analysis of Their Decline in
Contemporary Science Fiction" The Journal of Popular Culture xiv (2), 242–250. (1980)
Digital object identifier (https://www.doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-3840.1980.1402_242.x)
49. The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real By William Irwin. Open Court
Publishing, 2002/ ISBN 0-8126-9501-1 "written for those fans of the film who are already
philosophers."
50. Popper accuses Plato of betraying Socrates. He was not the first to do so. Thomas Jefferson
made the same statement in a letter to his friend John Adams in 1814, "Socrates had reason
indeed to complain of the misrepresentations of Plato; for in truth his dialogues are libels on
Socrates." (Jefferson, Thomas. "To John Adams Monticello, July 5, 1814" (http://www.let.rug.
nl/usa/presidents/thomas-jefferson/letters-of-thomas-jefferson/jefl231.php). University of
Groningen.) Gilbert Ryle, reviewing Popper's text just two years after its publication (Ryle, G.
(1 April 1947). "Popper, K.R. – The Open Society and its Enemies". Mind. 56 (222): 167–
172. doi:10.1093/mind/LVI.222.167 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmind%2FLVI.222.167).
JSTOR 2250518 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2250518).) and agreeing with him, wrote that
Plato "was Socrates' Judas." (Ryle, G. (1947). p. 169 (https://books.google.com/books?id=E
gIxAAAAIAAJ&q=%22was+Socrates'+Judas%22)). See also: Burke, T.E. (1983). The
Philosophy of Popper (https://books.google.com/books?id=rIK7AAAAIAAJ). Manchester:
Manchester University Press. p. 141 (https://books.google.com/books?id=rIK7AAAAIAAJ&p
g=141&dq=%22As+Gilbert+Ryle+put+it,+according+to+Popper,+Plato+was+Socrates'+Jud
as.+The+very+things+for+which+Socrates+lived+and+died+are+the+things+which+Plato+tr
ies+to+demolish+with+words+put+into+Socrates'+mouth%22). ISBN 978-0-71900911-2.
51. Popper, Karl (1950) The Open Society and Its Enemies, Vol. 1: The Spell of Plato, New
York: Routledge.
52. Popper, Karl (1950) The Open Society and Its Enemies, Vol. 1: The Spell of Plato, New
York: Routledge. p. 162.
53. Russell, B. (2004) History of Western Philosophy, end of Book I, part 2, ch. 14.
54. For an oft-cited argument that the analogy does not work, see T. Penner, “Thought and
Desire in Plato.” in G Vlastos ed., Plato, Vol. 2. Anchor Books, 1971
55. Blössner, Norbert. The City-Soul Analogy, G. R. F. Ferrari (Translator). In: G. R. F. Ferrari
(Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Plato's Republic, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
(Ch. 13; pp. 345–385).
56. History of Political Philosophy, co-editor with Joseph Cropsey, 3rd. ed., Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1987, p.68
57. History of Political Philosophy, co-editor with Joseph Cropsey, 3rd. ed., Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1987, p.60
58. Malcolm Schofield, "Plato and Practical Politics", in C. Rowe and M. Schofield (eds.), The
Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Political Thought, Cambridge University Press
2005, pp. 293–302.
59. Grenfall, Bernard Pyne; Hunt, Arthur Surridge (1898). "The Oxyrhynchus papyri" (https://arch
ive.org/stream/oxyrhynchuspapyr15gren#page/186/mode/2up/search/plato). p. 187.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160503230242/https://archive.org/stream/oxyrhync
huspapyr15gren#page/186/mode/2up/search/plato) from the original on 3 May 2016.
Retrieved 21 October 2017.
60. Mountain Man Graphics. "Plato's Republic at Nag Hammadi c.350 CE" (http://www.mountain
man.com.au/essenes/plato_at_nag_hammadi.htm).

Further reading
Annas, Julia (1981). An Introduction to Plato's Republic. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Benardete, Seth (1989). Socrates' Second Sailing: On Plato's Republic. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
Blackburn, Simon (2007). Plato's Republic: A Biography. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press.
Bosanquet, B. (1895). A Companion to Plato's Republic (https://archive.org/details/acompani
ontopla00bosagoog). London: Rivington, Percival & Co.
Cairns, Douglas, ed. (2007). Pursuing the good. University of Edinburgh Press.
Craig, Leon (1994). The War Lover: A Study of Plato's Republic (https://archive.org/details/w
arloverstudyofp0000crai). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802005861.
Cross, R.C. (1964). Plato's Republic: A Philosophical Commentary. London: Macmillan.
Dixsaut, Monique (2005). études sur la république de platon. france: vrin.
Ferrari, G.R.F., ed. (2007). The Cambridge Companion to Plato's Republic. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Howland, Jacob (1993). The Republic: The Odyssey of Philosophy. Philadelphia: Paul Dry
Books.
Hyland, Drew (1995). Finitude and transcendence in the Platonic dialogues.
Kraut, Richard, ed. (1997). Plato's Republic: Critical Essays. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
LeMoine, Rebecca (2020). Plato's Caves: The Liberating Sting of Cultural Diversity. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Levinson, Ronald (1953). In Defense of Plato. Cambridge: Harvard.
Lisi, Francisco, ed. (2007). The Ascent to the Good. London: Academia Verlag.
Mayhew, Robert (1997). Aristotle's Criticism of Plato's Republic. Lanham: Rowman &
Littlefield.
McNeill, David (2010). An Image of the Soul in Speech. University Park: Pennsylvania State
University Press.
Mitchell, Basil; Lucas, J.R. (2003). An Engagement with Plato's Republic: A Companion to
Plato's Republic. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Murphy, N.R. (1951). The Interpretation of Plato's Republic. Oxford: Oxford U.P.
Nettleship, Richard. (1898). Lectures on The Republic of Plato (https://archive.org/details/in.
ernet.dli.2015.462648). London.
Nethercott, Frances (2000). Russia's Plato: Plato and the Platonic Tradition in Russian
Education, Science, and Ideology (1840-1930) (https://books.google.com/books?id=_UfXAA
AAMAAJ). Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-1463-0. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
Nettleship, Richard. (1935). The Theory of Education in Plato's Republic. London: Oxford.
Ophir, Adi (1991). Plato's Invisible Cities. London: Routledge.
Pappas, Nikolas (1995). Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Plato and the Republic.
London: Routledge.
Piechowiak, Marek (2021). Plato's Conception of Justice and the Question of Human
Dignity. Berlin: Peter Lang.
Purshouse, Luke (2007). Plato's Republic. London: Continuum.
Reeve, C.D.C. (1988). Philosopher-Kings: The Argument of Plato's Republic. Princeton:
Princeton University Press.
Rice, Daryl H. (1998). A Guide to Plato's Republic. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Roochnik, David (2003). Beautiful City. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Rosen, Stanley (2005). Plato's Republic: A Study. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Santas, Gerasimos, ed. (2006). The Blackwell Guide to Plato's Republic. Oxford: Blackwell.
Santas, Gerasimos, ed. (2010). understanding Plato's Republic. Oxford: wiley-Blackwell.
Sayers, Sean (1999). Plato's Republic: An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University
Press.
Sesonske, Alexander, ed. (1966). Plato's Republic: Interpretation and Criticism. Belmont:
Wadsworth.
Sinaiko, Herman (1998). Reclaiming the Canon (https://archive.org/details/reclaimingcanon
e00sina). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300065299.
Strauss, Leo (1964). The City and Man. Chicago: Rand McNally.
White, Nicholas P. (1979). A Companion to Plato's Republic. Indianapolis: Hackett.
 Wild, John (1946). Plato's Theory of Man (https://archive.org/details/platostheoryofma0000wi
ld). Cambridge: Harvard.
Wild, John (1953). Plato's Modern Enemies and the Theory of Natural Law (https://archive.or
g/details/platosmodernenem0000wild). Chicago: University of Chicago.

External links
Texts of the Republic:
Republic, in a collection of Plato's Dialogues (https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/plato/di
alogues/benjamin-jowett) at Standard Ebooks
Plato's Republic (https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/jowett-the-republic-1888-ed), translated by
Benjamin Jowett (1892) with running comments & Stephanus numbers at Libertyfund.org
Plato's Republic (http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html), translated by Benjamin
Jowett at MIT.edu
Plato's Republic (https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plat.+Rep.+toc),
translated by Paul Shorey (1935) annotated and hyperlinked text (English and Greek) at
Perseus Project
e-text Plato's Republic (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1497), translated by Benjamin
Jowett with introduction at Project Gutenberg. (The same translation (http://www.gutenbe
rg.org/ebooks/55201) with Stephanus numbers, side notes and full index.)
The Republic (https://librivox.org/search?title=The+Republic&author=PLATO&reader=&k
eywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=c
atalog_date&search_page=1&search_form=advanced) public domain audiobook at LibriVox
Approaching Plato: A Guide to the Early and Middle Dialogues (http://campus.belmont.edu/p
hilosophy/Book.pdf) at Belmont University
"Plato's Republic" (http://www.iep.utm.edu/republic). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Ethics and Politics in The Republic (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-ethics-politics/) at
the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

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